Hexagram 37: 家人 (jiā rén)
Judgment
利女貞。
For (the realisation of what is taught in) Kiâ Zăn, (or for the regulation of the family), what is most advantageous is that the wife be firm and correct.
Commentary on the judgment (彖傳)
家人，女正位乎內，男正位乎外，男女正，天地之大義也。家人有嚴君焉，父母之謂也。父父，子子，兄兄，弟弟，夫夫，婦婦，而家道正；正家而天下定矣。
The image (大象)
風自火出，家人；君子以言有物，而行有恆。
The six lines
| Line | Chinese | Legge | Changes to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 — | 有孚威如，終吉。 | The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity and arrayed in majesty. In the end there will be good fortune. | 63 |
| 5 — | 王假有家，勿恤。吉。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows the influence of the king extending to his family. There need be no anxiety; there will be good fortune. | 22 |
| 4 – – | 富家，大吉。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject enriching the family. There will be great good fortune. | 13 |
| 3 — | 家人嗃嗃，悔厲吉；婦子嘻嘻，終吝。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject (treating) the members of the household with stern severity. There will be occasion for repentance, there will be peril, (but) there will (also) be good fortune. If the wife and children were to be smirking and chattering, in the end there would be occasion for regret. | 42 |
| 2 – – | 无攸遂，在中饋，貞吉。 | The second line, divided, shows its subject taking nothing on herself, but in her central place attending to the preparation of the food. Through her firm correctness there will be good fortune. | 9 |
| 1 — | 閑有家，悔亡。 | The first line, undivided, shows its subject establishing restrictive regulations in his household. Occasion for repentance will disappear. | 53 |
Lines are numbered from the bottom. Each line page shows the line text with its small image commentary; each “changes to” link opens the reading for that changing line.
Related hexagrams
- Inverse (lines in reverse order): hexagram 38
- Opposite (every line changed): hexagram 40 · reading
- Nuclear (lines 2–4 and 3–5): hexagram 64
English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882) — public domain; OCR text of the 1882 printing, checked against the proofread hexagrams. Chinese: Zhou Yi from Chinese Wikisource.
Character glossary
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 女nǚwoman, girl; female
- 貞zhēnvirtuous, chaste, pure; loyal
- 閑xiánfence, guard; to defend; idle time
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 家jiāhouse, home, residence; family
- 悔huǐto regret, to repent, to show remorse
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
- 无wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 攸yōudistant, far; adverbial prefix
- 遂suìto fail; to follow, to comply with
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 中zhōngcentral; center, middle; amidst; to hit
- 饋kuìgift, present
- 吉jílucky, propitious, good
- 人rénman, person; people
- 嗃hèto flute
- 厲lìwhetstone; to grind, to sharpen, to whet
- 婦fùmarried woman; wife
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 嘻xīhappy, giggling, laughing; an interjecti
- 終zhōngend; finally, in the end
- 吝lìnstingy, miserly; parsimonious
- 富fùabundant, ample; rich, wealthy
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 王wángking, ruler; royal; surname
- 假jiǎfake, false, deceitful; vacation
- 勿wùmust not, do not; without, never
- 恤xùto help, to relieve, to take pity on
- 孚fúto brood over eggs; to have confidence
- 威wēimight, power, prestige; to dominate
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.